Edge-protector for the soles of boots and shoes.



W. H. COLBATH.

EDGE PROTECTOR EOE THE sOLEs OP BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 5, 1911.

1,041,029. Patented Ot.15,1912.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.'

EDGE-PROTECTOR FOR THE SOLES 0F BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 15,1912.

Application filed December 5, 1911. Serial No. 664,031.

To all whom it may com-em:

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM I-I. CoLnA'rH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Natick, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Edge-Protectors for the Soles of Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the soles of boots or shoes and particularly to that class of shoes worn by miners, quarry-men and men of similar occupation.

The object of the invention is to provide a protector for the edge of the sole, which would be very inexpensive as an article of manufacture, quickly applied to the sole and of suitable material whereby it may be formed in the ordinary manner and by the Vuse of ordinary machinery, said protector being adapted to protect said sole from destruction or from bruising resulting from the contact of said sole with the sharp corners of rocks or of metal which might be strewn about the locality in which the wearer thereof is employed.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the drawing: Figure l is a plan view of an outer sole having a protector, embodying my invention, applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and illustrating the same in connection with a portion of the upper and the inner sole of a boot., said upper and inner sole also being shown in section.

In the drawing, 5 is an outer sole to which is attached an edge protector 6 embodyingin its formation a vertically disposed rim 7 extending entirely around the edge of the forepart, shank and heel portions of the sole 5, said rim also preferably extending downwardly to a plane including the bottom face of said sole.

A lip 11 is laterally disposed on said rim at the upper edge thereof and engages the upper face of the sole 5 at the forepart and shank portions thereof, the opposite inner edges thereof being connected at the shank portion 10 of said sole by a narrow strip of metal 12 adapted to prevent the sides of said protector from spreading, while eX- tending from said narrow strip 12 around the heel portion of said sole is a reduced lip 17. Arranged along the inner edge of the lip 11 is a series of projections 13-13, each of which is adapted to project into or pierce the sole at a distance from the edge thereof and thereby prevent spreading of said protector at points not held by the strip l2.

Fig. 2 of the drawing illustrates the manner in which an outer sole having a protector thereon is applied to the upper of a boot or shoe, 14 representing a portion of an upper and 15 an inner sole, said outer sole being connected or secured thereto by any suitable means, but in this case being secured by tacks 1G-16- It will be seen that the lip 11 extends along the upper face of the sole 5 and is retained in place on said sole by its engagement with the upper 111 which isl securely held thereagainst by said tacks.

The protector 6 is preferably attached to the sole while said sole is in a fiat state and before being attached to a shoe upper may be easily pressed thereon after the sole has been trimmed to the desired shape. After said protector has been pressed on to said sole it is then smoothed up and in readiness to be applied to the shoe no further trimming being necessary.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim and desire by Letters Patent to secure is:

As an article of manufacture, an outer sole for boots or shoes, and a metallic protector extending around the edge of the forepart, shank and heel portions thereof and embodying in its formation a vertically disposed rim adapted to extend entirely around the edge of said forepart, shank and heel portions, a lip laterally disposed on said rim and adapted to engage one face of said sole, a series of projections arranged adjacent to the inner edge of said lip, each adapted to pierce said sole at a distance from the edge thereof, and means adapted to connect the opposite sides of said protector at the shank of said sole.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. COLBATH.

Witnesses CHARLES S. GoonrNe, SYDNEY E. TArT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

